Unsheathed

It was the same woman with the Fan surname, and at first glance, it appeared that her attire was quite simple and modest, but upon closer inspection, one would notice that there were elegant clouds embroidered onto her clothes, and they were just barely visible under the light of the moon and the nearby lanterns. It was a very refined and understated display of wealth.

However, at this moment, she appeared to be wearing a disguise that masked much of her beauty, so she didn’t attract too much attention from the bystanders nearby.

She was still staring intently at Chen Ping’an, who set down his bowl and chopsticks in exasperation as he asked, “Can I help you?”

All of a sudden, she raised a hand to rub her own forehead, then looked around with a furrowed brow.

A conflict had arisen between some people at a neighboring table, and they were hurling abuse at one another while slamming the table. One of them was pointing at the nose of the other while denouncing all of the women in his family as sluts and prostitutes, and that his house may as well have been a brothel.

Both were speaking with a strong Southern Garden Nation capital dialect, and they were being extremely vulgar and crass.

The woman gently massaged her own temples for a moment to compose herself, then turned back to Chen Ping’an with a look of intrigue and admiration in her eyes as she asked through voice transmission, “Young Master, are you, by any chance, an otherworldly immortal?”

Chen Ping’an was very amused to hear this, and he shook his head as he replied, “I’m not an otherworldly immortal, I’m just an outsider traveling through Southern Garden Nation.”

A disappointed look appeared on the woman’s face, and she said in an apologetic manner, “Please pardon my intrusion.”

“It’s fine,” Chen Ping’an replied with a wave of his hand.

The woman hesitated momentarily, then continued, “The capital has not been a very safe place of late. Someone of your exceptional talents could easily become a target, so do be careful.”

“Thank you for looking out for me, Ms. Fan,” Chen Ping’an replied as he cupped his fist in a salute.

Fan Wan’er wasn’t the type to prolong unnecessary interactions, and she promptly departed without another world. Some young thugs tried to grab her as she passed by, but she was able to evade them with ease, much like a fish in water swimming through their grasping hands in an agile fashion. Chen Ping’an was feeling rather perplexed.

According to Cui Chan’s grandfather, one’s martial arts aptitude could be gleaned from whether they were able to derive the most profound fist intent from the lowliest of fist techniques, and that was one of the reasons why he had chosen Chen Ping’an.

However, the old man was very stubborn and refused to admit that the Mountain Shaking Fist actually had many strong points, and Chen Ping’an didn’t want to expose him.

This woman was most likely Fan Wan’er, and judging from what Chen Ping’an had overhead from Ya’er, Zhou Shi, and the old man with the Ding surname, she seemed to be comparable to someone like He Xiaoliang back on Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

Fan Wan’er was clearly already displaying signs of approaching the Great Dao, but for some reason, her martial arts cultivation base was unable to improve, as if there were a massive mountain weighing down upon it, inhibiting its growth.

One could conceal one’s aura to condense their cultivation base and strive for a stronger foundation, but over time, telltale signs would begin to emerge, even from actions as mundane as taking a breath or lifting a finger.

Earlier, the old man with the Ding surname appeared to have been quite casual as he made his way into White River Temple, but Chen Ping’an was immediately able to sense the stirring of heaven and earth.

Having emerged from Jewel Small World, Chen Ping’an had witnessed more than his fair share of unfathomably powerful figures, so someone that even he regarded as powerful was definitely no slouch. After all, his fist technique instructor was a martial artist who had once been at the pinnacle of the tenth tier, while his sword technique mentor was an old Golden Core Tier swordsman.

Following Fan Wan’er’s departure, Chen Ping’an also left the bustling market shortly thereafter.

Southern Garden Nation’s capital city was split up into eighty-one areas of different sizes, and the general layout was much the same compared with many of the nations that Chen Ping’an had passed through. The northern part of the city was quite wealthy, while the south was impoverished, and the east was filled with martial artists, while the west was primarily inhabited by scholars.

White River Temple was situated in the western part of the city, which was home to the manors of many mid-level scholarly officials and wealthy merchants.

At this moment, Chen Ping’an was walking on a stone arch bridge. It was a peaceful night, and he jumped onto the railing of the bridge, walking along it to the other side of the bridge before looking down at the river beneath his feet. There was a flood-dragon-like water guardian beast down below, which was quite a common sight at rivers like this one.

There were many such water guardian beasts in many of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent’s more opulent cities, and they were usually positioned near bridges to subjugate the spirits in the water. However, Chen Ping’an wasn’t able to sense any spiritual energy in this ancient water guardian beast, indicating to him that it was only there for show.

While Chen Ping’an was staring into the water in a daze, Fan Wan’er ran into Prince Wei Yan, who was supposed to have been on his way back to the Southern Garden Nation’s imperial palace.

Despite his noble status, Wei Yan was also a young martial artist master. His martial arts teacher was a master from an older generation who had fled to Southern Garden Nation from the north. Just as Wei Yan had said, his master was among the small handful of people closest to the Upper Ten Elites.

Additionally, Wei Yan’s master also had a vendetta against the Hanging Flower Faction, one of the three devilish sects. Hence, as his disciple, Wei Yan was thought of by the Lake Mountain Faction and the Mirror Heart Pavilion as one who walked the righteous path, and that he had hopes of becoming a leading figure in the martial arts world in the future.

In fact, the Mirror Heart Pavilion even had intentions of helping him become the next emperor of Southern Garden Nation.

The young woman by the name of Ya’er was supporting Wei Yan’s younger brother, Wei Chong, in secret. The two of them had been constantly at each other’s throats, fighting over the favor of the old emperor for the past five or six years.

Fan Wan’er and Wei Yan were strolling through the peaceful night when Wei Yan said, “If you wanted to meet that person, then there was no need to keep it a secret from me, Celestial Maiden Fan. The fact that he was able to hide in White River Temple and avoid our detection the entire time indicates that he’s clearly not just some ordinary martial artist. If he had been a devilish cultivator, then you could’ve easily placed yourself in harm’s way by going to see him on your own.”

Fan Wan’er smiled as she said, “Right now, there are ten prominent figures in our younger generation, namely you and me, Qing Ya’er, Zhou Shi of the Spring Tide Palace, and six other young martial artists of a similar age to us. In a way, we’re almost a reflection of the current Upper Ten Elites. Out of all of us, who do you think is the most formidable martial artist?”

Wei Yan already knew the answer to this question. Not only did he have a good master, he was also the prince of a nation, and he had spies feeding him intelligence from all over the world.

Hence, even though he hadn’t traveled much of the world himself, he knew many secrets that others didn’t, and he didn’t even have to think before he replied, “It’s hard to say who’s at the very top, but there’s a common consensus on who occupies the top three spots. In a battle of life and death, the one who comes out on top will be the one who can derive the most advantage from certain internal and external factors.”

Wei Yan took a glance at Fan Wan’er as he spoke, and he noticed that she wasn’t carrying a weapon.

He smiled as he continued, “You’re very well-versed with the teachings of the Mirror Heart Pavilion and the Lake Mountain Faction, as well as the long-lost White Ape Sword-Carrying Technique. With all of your talents, you are definitely worthy of a spot in the top three. My master once told me that you can be two completely different people depending on whether you have a sword on your back.”

“You’re far too kind, Your Highness,” Fan Wan’er said with a smile.

Wei Yan clasped one hand behind his back while gently tapping the jade belt around his waist with the fingers of his other hand as he continued, “Back when Ya’er first came to the capital city, she had been extremely arrogant and provoked the imperial preceptor. She withstood a punch from the imperial preceptor and was able to survive, albeit with some injuries.

“Everyone thought that she was merely fortunate to have survived that encounter, but my father told me that our imperial preceptor once proclaimed that Ya’er possessed tremendous martial arts aptitude, likening her to a female Lu Fang.

“As for the final person to round out the top three, that would have to be Feng Qingbai. Over the past decade or so, he’s been on a meteoric rise, but nothing is known about his past, his origins, and which powers he’s affiliated with.

“He likes to travel to all parts and challenge all types of different martial arts masters, and he’s been improving at a rapid rate. One can tell from the opponents that he’s selected that in the short span of just a decade, he’s grown from a complete novice to a first-rate elite martial artist.”

Wei Yan paused here momentarily, then turned to Fan Wan’er before asking, “Is there anyone else I should know about in the remaining seven?”

Fan Wan’er clasped her hands behind her back as she strolled over a small bridge, approaching the railing before patting the head of the small stone lion engraved there as she replied, “If there is, then at the very least, I don’t know about them, nor does our Mirror Heart Pavilion.”

Wei Yan never expected there to be such a cheeky and mischievous side to Fan Wan’er, and he couldn’t help but momentarily transfixed as he gazed upon her.

When it came to judging female beauty, the average man would only look at a woman’s face and figure, while those with more refined taste appraised a woman’s aura.

Fan Wan’er was exceptional in all three accounts, so it was no wonder that the proud and noble prince of Southern Garden Nation had fallen for her.

Wei Yan had always made sure to be respectful around Fan Wan’er, whether that be with his words and actions, or with his gaze, but he had never tried to hide his feelings for her, either.

He stopped in his tracks, then sped up so that he could walk alongside her, and he wanted to grab onto her delicate hand, but didn’t have the courage.

All of a sudden, Fan Wan’er stopped and turned her gaze to the distance, and a concerned look appeared on her face as she said, “The reason why I brought this up is because I want to talk to you about something that’s always befuddled me.”

“Go ahead,” Wei Yan prompted in an intrigued manner.

Fan Wan’er began massaging her own glabella, and Wei Yan asked in a concerned voice, “What’s wrong? Did that white-robed swordsman do something to you?”

Fan Wan’er shook her head with a smile, then asked, “Your Highness, have you ever heard of otherworldly immortals from your master?”

“My master is an unrefined martial artist, and he never mentions such topics,” Wei Yan replied with a smile. “He detests scholars and denounces them as a bunch of cowards with no balls. Whenever I have a chat with my master, if I use any idioms or any form of what he considers to be refined language, then I’ll be sure to receive a beating. Hence, I could only ever read about otherworldly immortals in poems and scriptures.”

Seeing as Wei Yan had no useful information to offer, Fan Wan’er didn’t dwell on this topic, and she turned her gaze to the distance again as she changed the subject and asked, “Your Highness, do you ever get the feeling that when we experience something, go to a place, or meet a person, that it feels a little familiar, even though those should be first-time experiences?”

“I have had that feeling before,” Wei Yan replied with a nod, following which he asked with an amused smile, “Could it be that you believe in the Buddhist concept of reincarnation, Celestial Maiden Fan?”

Fan Wan’er shook her head in response.

————

On this particular night, there were seven or eight people standing on Bull Mountain, one of whom was the childlike Yu Zhenyi, who was looking out at the capital city in the distance with a solemn look on his face.

There was also the disheveled drunkard who had even pawned his sword to the woman running the wine shop, and his name was Lu Fang.

Imperial Preceptor Zhong Qiu of Southern Garden Nation was also present. He was a thin and serious-looking man with a scholarly demeanor, and it was hard to imagine that he was the leading figure among the four grandmasters.

Yu Zhenyi’s voice was just as tender as his appearance suggested it would be, and he said, “It looks like we’re going to have to kill an additional person outside of Old Demon Ding, Zhou Fei, Feng Qingbai, and Tong Qingqing.”

“It’s not going to be me, is it?” Lu Fang asked in a self-deprecating voice, and he was met with a cold glare from Zhong Qiu.

An exasperated look appeared on Lu Fang’s face as he asked, “So I’m not even allowed to crack jokes now?”

Aside from these three, there were also some figures on the mountain summit that definitely shouldn’t have appeared here.

All of them were either among the Upper Ten Elites, or were martial arts masters of the same caliber as Wei Yan’s master.

On this particular night, righteous and evil forces were coming together for a joint cause.

Yu Zhenyi was staring intently at a certain spot in the capital city as he said in a quiet voice, “Lu Fang, go and take care of that outsider. As for whether you work together to kill him or kill him on your own, I don’t care, but failure is not an option. Bring that person’s head to me within three days, and just like always, the one who kills him gets to keep all of his possessions.”

Lu Fang rubbed the back of his own head as he heaved a faint sigh, while a burst of eager cackling rang out in the distance.

————

Instead of returning to his residence, Chen Ping’an was roaming the capital city at night like a lost spirit, and as he did so, he snuck into the scripture library of a well-educated clan and began to read through the books there.

He departed before daybreak, then went to eavesdrop on the lessons being delivered at the capital city’s imperial academy. Only at noon did he return to Champion Scholar Alley, and he intentionally avoided the residence that the old man with the Ding surname and Zhou Shi were staying in.